YOUR COMPANY SHOULD CREATE MAGIC LIKE THE BEATLES
By Donn Kirst
A thriving company should create a vision of “MAGIC”. Magic means to be a legend in their field by spreading joy, harmony and love. “Love?” you say. Your people must love what they do, and the customer must love what your company is offering.
To describe best the attributes of a legendary company, let’s go back more than 40 years to the birth of the Beatles. John Lennon said to Paul McCartney “Do you want to join me band?” Both John and Paul were school kids who loved music and wanted to perform, yet neither one could possibly comprehend at the time their colossal future.
Like many companies, the Beatles did not begin with instant success. They played small British pubs, and clubs in Hamburg, Germany. It was common to get bottles thrown at them while performing, or get jumped by gangs after the show. They also had personnel issues, like many beginning operations who can’t seam to get the all players to mesh and be in harmony. It wasn’t until the FAB FOUR joined forces; John, Paul, George and Ringo that the magic began to take hold. In an identical way, companies that want to create magic must have the players be in harmony with a common vision.
They grinded out many a nights at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and worked to create a first album, then the word spread like wild fire. They created what the world famous authors and management experts Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, call Raving Fans. Raving fans means that the people will buy anything that is associated with you, because they believe in you because they know you are thetr to make them feel good and they eventually will love you. “All you need is love.” By the time the Beatles were ready to break into other markets, i.e. the United States, the word had already spread across the Atlantic and millions awaited their arrival to the U.S. with breathless anticipation. Screaming women fainted as they performed live on the Ed Sullivan show and they sold so many records on their first tour, that even Elvis was jealous of their success. In a similar way like IBM became jealous of the rising APPLE COMPUTER.
Every where they performed to sold out concert halls. They released new subsequent albums, and would beat their own sales records. At the beginning The Beatles were infallible and the public would buy anything they produced. Like all fast growing companies, the Beatles soon had their share of controversy and problems. When a company or band grows too fast, there are a ton of critics ready to pounce on every wrong move.
The leaders of a fast growing company or band, tend to get exploding egos and believe their own press of their greatness. Infallibility is never true of any person, any band or any company. Mistakes will always be made and sometimes devastating mistakes that can nearly take a company under. John Lennon made an off handed comment about being more popular than Jesus, and those “raving fans” were burning their records in the streets, while many DJ’s refused to play their albums and record sales dropped. Exxon suffered tremendous losses when deciding that the extra cost of putting reinforced hulling in the oil tanker Valdez was not worth it. The consequent oil spill created billions of dollars of damage to the Alaskan wilderness. Exxon received years of bad press coverage which effected income. The government is still trying to force Exxon to pay for the clean up. The effects of this tragic ecological event are still evident in the Prince William Sound 19 years later.
The Beatles like leaders of an organization also had their share of tension between each other. Most in the band were upset about John’s girlfriend, Yoko Ono getting involved in their music, and the effect she had on John. The others in the band felt like Paul was becoming bossy and egocentric. George and Ringo often felt that they did not get as many writing credits as they should have and did not feel that they were equally compensated for their contributions. Each time a new album appeared, the magic emerged again. Each album carried with it, groundbreaking sounds and lyrics that influenced an entire culture. They were able to set aside their differences enough time to be in the studio and compose masterpieces. The Beatles ignored the controversy and hard feelings in order to maintain true to their vision of changing the world with their music.
The Beatles finally disbanded in 1970, but their music has been eternal. The magic they created has transcended generations, countries, and cultures. In 2008 there are Las Vegas shows built around their music, world class impersonators playing their covers, and world wide cinematic production that incorporates their songs into the entire musical storyline. The Beatles created magic, much like Disney or Microsoft create magic. The magic was created by the forging of four talented individuals into one collective force. A company must strive to forge their individual talents into one force. Like the Beatles, they must always be changing and improving. They must always be looking for ways to reach their audience and express themselves through their work. Like the Beatles, “you gotta get by with a little help” from your fans.
